1. Field of the Invention
The invention concerns a method and apparatus for allowing a consumer at point-of-sale to evaluate color cosmetic products on their virtual facial image prior to purchase.
2. The Related Art
Color cosmetics encompass among others lipsticks, eyeliner, blush, lipliner, eye shadow and facial foundation. A vast array of colors and shades are available to consumers. Often the consumer finds it difficult to select among this vast array of choices. It is difficult to decide how a particular color or shade will look when actually spread on the skin. Even more difficult to assess is how a combination of color cosmetic products such as facial foundation, lipstick and eyeshadow will work together for a particular individual. Systems have been developed to assist the decision process. Clinique and Clarion have installed computers at sales counters for use by the consumer. Information on color shade, oiliness and other properties of a consumer's skin are punched into the computer which then determines the company's most closely matching product.
Another point of sale technique has been that of custom blending. Two major companies, Prescriptives (division of Estee Lauder) and Visage (division of Revlon) begin a sale by manually evaluating a subject's skin color. The sales person then adjusts existing finished foundations so as to match the evaluated skin color for a perfect facial foundation. Unfortunately, the system is time consuming, requires extensively trained sales persons, and has poor reproduceability.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,854,850, 5,825,941 and 5,687,259 all to Linford et al. assigned to the Mirror Software Corporation disclose a system for digital image capture of a particular person's face and software to manipulate facial structures. The system is intended for reconstructive plastic surgery.
It is evident that relatively unsophisticated systems are available for color matching. The technology also exists for digital recording of individual faces. To date there has been no disclosure of systems which utilize digital imagery for cosmetic products. Neither has there been reported any systems for obtaining virtual makeover of a consumer's image whereby the consumer can see the effect of different color cosmetic products on their own face.
Accordingly, it is an object of the present invention to provide a method and apparatus for forming a virtual makeover of a person's face on an image monitor so as to allow selection of the best color combinations.
Another object of the present invention is to provide a method and apparatus for virtual makeover at a point of sale counter wherein color makeup can be electronically painted over the consumer's image without requiring actual removal of make-up prior to obtaining a baseline natural skin color image.
These and other objects of the present invention will become more apparent from the following summary and detailed description.